In the fabrication of artwork mats, craft items and numerous other applications, devices are often used for rendering an oval shape upon a material. The material is often in the form of flat sheets of a substance such as paper, mat board, sheet plastic, and the like. The term "rendering" may include, but is not limited to, operations such as cutting, edge trimming, surface marking with an implement, such as a pen or pencil, or inscribing.
In addition to drafting templates, devices are well known in the prior art for rendering ovals upon a material. Typically, such prior art devices, which allow the user to adjust the foci of the oval, involve points of adjustment for changing the overall size of the oval, the width-to-length ratio (or ellipticity) of the oval and the angle of the blade or marking device. However, such adjustments typically require the user to manually loosen the adjustment components, fix the adjustment components in the desired position and then manually tighten the adjustment components once they are affixed in the desired position. Fumbling with knobs and other adjustment devices becomes very tedious with more than one step involved.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device with more than one foci adjustment for rendering ovals on material.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the foci adjustment comprises a single and continuously variable movement.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals of an infinite variety of sizes and width-to-length ratios, or ellipticity, on material.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device comprises a swivel plate for adjustably locking the length of an arm for determining the overall size of the oval.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device comprises a storage compartment in the device for storing, for example, extra blades.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device is capable of both drawing and cutting ovals.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device is capable of simultaneously drawing and cutting ovals.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device can rotate in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device comprises an indicator for denoting the direction in which the blade is set to cut.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device comprises compass points for improving alignment of the ovals on the material. It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein an operating element of the device is located below a top surface of the device.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device comprises a slot and a channel disposed within the same plane.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel device for rendering ovals on material wherein the device does not require a space between a slot and a channel in which an armature is disposed.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by review of the detailed description of preferred embodiments.